Fresh addition: Kenton RC’s new Autumn Classic completes U23 National Road Series
Kenton RC’s brand-new Autumn Classic has quietly joined the British Cycling calendar as the season-ending round of the 2025 Under-23 National Road Series. Set for 7 September on Bedfordshire’s rolling Weedon Circuit, the race revives the club’s open-road heritage and prolongs the U23 title fight.
Without any fanfare, the Kenton RC Autumn Classic has quietly appeared on the British Cycling calendar as the final round of the 2025 Under-23 Open National Road Series.
The race is scheduled for Sunday 7 September 2025 in Bedfordshire, filling the previously vacant concluding slot in the U23 series. Hosted by Kenton Road Club, the Autumn Classic will unfold over nine laps of the 14 km Weedon Circuitnear Leighton Buzzard, starting and finishing at Cublington Tennis Club. The organisers have mapped out a 126 km test on rolling rural roads that, they promise, should deliver “fireworks” on the day.
“The Kenton Road Club has a long tradition of promoting races on the open road,”club secretary Brendan Heaslip told The British Continental. “For many years our annual 2-Up Team Time Trial was considered a classic, while the Kenton Grand Prix always attracted many of the country’s best riders.
“Like many clubs, we haven’t been able to run those events in recent years, but a resurgence in membership means the time feels right to promote races again. When BC Central Division offered us the chance to host a National Under-23 Road Series round, we jumped at it.”
The Autumn Classic’s arrival offers a welcome bright spot in a season where at least ten National B road races have been cancelled and many more scrapped altogether. Most recently, both the Diss CC Summer Road Race and the CC Hackney Road Race – scheduled for 13 and 20 July respectively – were cancelled, the former because roadworks blocked the course and the latter due to an acute shortage of accredited marshals. Against that backdrop, Kenton RC’s decision to organise a new U23 series round in September is an important development.
Image: Emma Wilcock
The Autumn Classic cements a four-round structure for the 2025 U23 Open National Road Series. The campaign opened in March with the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in the East Midlands, continued with June’s Halesowen Academy Road Race in the West Midlands – also a new addition to the calendar – and will resume with the Yorkshire U23 Classic in early August. Bedfordshire’s Autumn Classic will now provide the all-important finale in British Cycling’s Central region.
Crucially, the event means the 2025 U23 crown will be settled on the Weedon Circuit rather than wrapping up in August. After two rounds, Maxwell Hereward (360 Cycling) leads the standings on 50 points, with Cameron Still (Ride Revolution) and Alex Beldon (Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck) tied on 30. With a race win worth 30 points, the door remains wide open for a last-gasp upset.
Without any fanfare, the Kenton RC Autumn Classic has quietly appeared on the British Cycling calendar as the final round of the 2025 Under-23 Open National Road Series.
The race is scheduled for Sunday 7 September 2025 in Bedfordshire, filling the previously vacant concluding slot in the U23 series. Hosted by Kenton Road Club, the Autumn Classic will unfold over nine laps of the 14 km Weedon Circuitnear Leighton Buzzard, starting and finishing at Cublington Tennis Club. The organisers have mapped out a 126 km test on rolling rural roads that, they promise, should deliver “fireworks” on the day.
“The Kenton Road Club has a long tradition of promoting races on the open road,”club secretary Brendan Heaslip told The British Continental. “For many years our annual 2-Up Team Time Trial was considered a classic, while the Kenton Grand Prix always attracted many of the country’s best riders.
“Like many clubs, we haven’t been able to run those events in recent years, but a resurgence in membership means the time feels right to promote races again. When BC Central Division offered us the chance to host a National Under-23 Road Series round, we jumped at it.”
The Autumn Classic’s arrival offers a welcome bright spot in a season where at least ten National B road races have been cancelled and many more scrapped altogether. Most recently, both the Diss CC Summer Road Race and the CC Hackney Road Race – scheduled for 13 and 20 July respectively – were cancelled, the former because roadworks blocked the course and the latter due to an acute shortage of accredited marshals. Against that backdrop, Kenton RC’s decision to organise a new U23 series round in September is an important development.
The Autumn Classic cements a four-round structure for the 2025 U23 Open National Road Series. The campaign opened in March with the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in the East Midlands, continued with June’s Halesowen Academy Road Race in the West Midlands – also a new addition to the calendar – and will resume with the Yorkshire U23 Classic in early August. Bedfordshire’s Autumn Classic will now provide the all-important finale in British Cycling’s Central region.
Crucially, the event means the 2025 U23 crown will be settled on the Weedon Circuit rather than wrapping up in August. After two rounds, Maxwell Hereward (360 Cycling) leads the standings on 50 points, with Cameron Still (Ride Revolution) and Alex Beldon (Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck) tied on 30. With a race win worth 30 points, the door remains wide open for a last-gasp upset.
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Featured image: Emma Wilcock
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